Carton



July 25, 1944. F. K. RATCLIFF 3 CARTON Filed'May 1 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet l y 1944? F. k. RATCLIFF 2,354,543

CARTON Filed May 1 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 fiaveru orv Patented July 25, 1944 2,354,543 CARTON Francis Kenneth Ratclifl, Chicago, 111., assignor to Container Corporation of America, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Illinois Application May 1, 1941, Serial No. 391,247

1 Claim.

culiar difficulties in packaging and dispensing from cartons made of fiberboard and the like, and

the invention will, therefore, be described primarily with reference to such use.

One of the primary objects of the invention is to provide an inexpensive and easily constructed.

carton in which the desired commodity may be packed, sealed and stored ready for sale and from which the commodity may be quickly and readily removed for use. Another object is to provide a carton so constructed that effects of tampering therewith will be readily apparent, although it may be easily opened in the proper manner. Still another object is to provide a carton so constructed that by the simple removal of a tear or zipper strip and an equally simple and easy manipulation of thecarton walls, the entire carton may be opened out flat, so as to expose the contents fully. The attainment of this objective makes the invention of especial value in the packaging of ice cream, which is often difficult to remove from conventional paper or fiberboard cartons.

Many other objects, advantages and uses of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description read in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a carton adapted to contain ice cream or the like and embodying a preferred form of the invention.

Figure 2 is a large scale view of a corner fragment of the carton of Figure 1 showing the construction of a corner adjacent to a tuck flap.

Figure 3 is a perspective view of thecarton of Figure 1 after it has been partially opened, and

Figure 4 is a developed view of the carton blank cut and scored for folding into box form.

The material of which the carton is to be made may be any that is satisfactory for the-purposes to which the carton is to be put. Suitable cutting and scoring dies are used in the usual manner and arranged to form blanks each of which may be similar to the preferred form of blank illustrated in Figure 4. The cutting and scoring result in the provision of a front side wall panel 5, a bottom wall panel 6, a rear side wall panel 1, a top wall or cover panel 8, a sealing flap generally designated 9 and attached to the front or forward edge of the top panel 8, a pair of similar end closure flaps ll attached to the lateral edges of top panel 8, an end wall panel I2 carrying a tuck flap 13 at its outer or free end and attached to one lateral edge of the rear panel l, correspondingly similar end flaps l4 attached to the lateral edges of bottom panel 6, and an end wall panel I5 carrying a tuck flap lliwat its outer or free end and attached to one lateral edge of the front panel 5. Lines l'l,' l-8, I9, 20, 2|, 22, 23, 24, 25 and 26 are crease or score lines segregating from one another the panels and partsso far mentioned and about or along which the said panels or parts are folded in setting up the carton from the blank.

The front side wall panel 5 is reducedin height, in the preferred form, by cutting off a strip in width approximately equal to the-thickness of the material of the blank thereby to form the edge 21 to permit sealing flap 9 to be folded along score line 20 without danger of tearing alongthe latter. The sealing flap 9 is arranged to overlap the outer surface ofthe front side wall panel 5 and to be secured thereto, more or less permanently, by an adhesive-coated securing strip 28 which forms the outer portion of the flap 9. An inner strip or portion 29 connected directly to the'top wall panel 8 along score line 20 is of v .32 may be provided on the ends of tear strip 3| to permit easy gripping of the strip when, it is to be torn ofi and, if desired, the perforations or vcuts, forming theweakened lines 30, may be staggered with respect to one another, so. as to .increase the. ease of tearing; oifstrip 3|...

It will be noted that the end wall panels I2.

and I5 are attached-to the rear and front side walls, respectively, at opposite ends of the carton; that each of tongues l3 and I6 is notched as shown at 33 at opposite ends of the score lines 23 and. 26 and scored along lines 34 extending at right angles to score lines 23 and 26 from the bottoms of the notches 33 to provide marginal portions or locktabs 35; that each of the end flaps l4 secured to the bottom panel 6 has one side edge bevelled off as shown at 36, these bevelled edges being opposite one another, that is,

along those edges remote from the respective adjacent panels l2 and I5; and that the end flaps II have their side edges 31 cut in convexly ar-' 'cuate shape, the arcs being struck on substantially equally radii from centers preferably lying on and between the ends of score lines 2! and adjacent to the juncture of score lines 2| with score line I9. -These features of construction are of considerable importance in the attainment of some of the objectives of the invention as will become apparent.

In some cases the blanks may be shipped in pared for shipping it is usually preferable to fill the same with the commodity, such as ice cream, to be packaged from one or the other of its ends after sealing the sealing flap 9 in proper position and closing the other end. Ice cream is usually flowed into cartons of this character in a mushy or semi-solid state and, when the package is full, the end flaps at the filling end are folded in over the contents whereupon the end wall panel is folded over andits tongue inserted into place; the filled package then being stored at subfreezing temperature until the ice cream becomes hard. In such condition it is very diflicult for the consumer to remove the ice cream from the carton unless the package can be opened fully and easilyor the block can be removed bodily from the package, the latter operation usually being difficult if not impossible without tearing the ordinary carton to pieces with undesirable results.

When the carton is being closed and sealed it is preferable to give each pair of locking tabs 35 a slight set" toward the hinge connection between the end wall panel by which they are carried and the rear or frontwall panel, as the case may be, so that those edges of these tabswhich define the notches 33 may engage behind mar-' ginal portions of the bevelled or tapered edges 36 of end flaps l4 adjacent thereto. After. the end wall panels l2 and-l5 have been closed and thefaces of flaps l4 while the upper tabs35 will-be similarly engaged with upper portions of the inner faces of flaps l l. The arrangement is such that the carton is relatively securely closed against unapparent tampering.

The carton disclosed herein is designed to he opened to its fullest extent, thatv is, to its flat or blank form so as to expose all but the bottom side of the packaged commodity, which may then readily be released from the bottom panel .upon which it stands. This is done simply by removing (tearing off) the tear or zipper" strip 3|, raising the cover or top panel 8, and pressing outwardly and downwardly in a somewhat diagonal manner on those diagonally opposite comers at which the end wall panels l2 and 15 are connected to the back and front side wall panels I and 5, respectively. Manipulation in such manner tends to cause the end wall panels l2 and [5 to swing upwardly in their own planes to effect release of tongues I3 and it, these tongues sliding (or being positively moved) upward along the inclined or tapered edges 36 to such points as will disengage. or release the lower disposed locking it is a very simple matter to run a knife or other instrument between the flaps and contents so as to free the flaps.

The invention has been shown and described in what is at present considered to be the preferred form but, as will be appreciated, it is sus ceptible of other embodiments and of variation and modification without departure from its sp rit and the scope of the appended claim.

I claim: A carton formed from a foldable paperboard blank cut and scored to provide front, bottom, back and top wall panels, readily releasable means for securing said top wall panel to said front wall panel, an end flap on each of the lateral edges of said top and bottom wall panels, an end wall panel on one lateral edge of said front wall panel, a second end wall panel on the opposite lateral edge of said back wall panel, a tuck flap on each of said end wall panels. each of said tuck flaps being disposed against the inner surface of the wall panel opposite that to which its end wall panel is attached, and a notch-at each end of the junction line between said tuck flaps and said end wall panels adapted to engage said end flaps and lockingly engage the same, the forward edges of those end flaps attached to said top wall panel being convexly arcuate to permit said top wall panel to be raised when said securing means has been released, and 'eaclf'of those end flaps attached to said bottom wall panel being tapered along that one of its edges which is adjacent to a tuck flap whereby slight outward bending of said front and back walls adjacent their junction with said end wall panels will allow said notches to be disengaged from said last-mentioned 'end flaps.

FRANCIS KENNETH RATCLIFF. 

